Starter quiz
- Which of these pronouns are used to show a first person perspective?
- I, me, my, mine ✓
- she, her, hers
- we, us, our, ours
-
- Which sentence is written in the first person?
- He was stunned by what he saw.
- They couldn't believe their eyes.
- I was completely flabbergasted. ✓
-
- What can we infer from the following sentence? 'The boy stood up with grit on his bloody knees and tears streaming down his face.'
- The boy was in a fight.
- The boy has injured himself. ✓
- The boy was on the ground. ✓
- The boy is upset. ✓
-
- What can we infer from the following sentence? 'There was a knock on the door and the girl froze, looking pale.'
- The girl is very shy.
- The girl is worried about what is about to happen. ✓
- The girl is about to get in trouble.
- The girl has done something wrong.
-
- Which of the following might be pieces of evidence an author uses to show us that a character is angry?
- She had a bruise on her arm.
- She scowled. ✓
- She had clenched her fists. ✓
- She chewed her nails.
-
- Who is the 'protagonist' of a story?
- the main setting
- the main character ✓
- the victim of a crime
- a person who commits a crime
-
Exit quiz
- Match these words to their meanings.
- diminished⇔made small ✓
- clamour⇔loud, confusing noise ✓
- caress⇔stroke ✓
- engrossed⇔absorbed in ✓
- Match these words to their meanings.
- therapy⇔talking to a professional about your feelings ✓
- auburn⇔reddish-brown ✓
- rebuke⇔telling-off ✓
- instinctively⇔without thinking ✓
- Are these statements true or false? Select the true ones.
- All autistic people struggle at school.
- Some autistic people find loud noises and bright lights overwhelming. ✓
- Addie is a example of a typical autistic person.
- Some autistic people may perform actions repetitively. ✓
-
- Which of the characters below does Addie have positive relationships with so far?
- Miss Murphy
- Nina
- Dad ✓
- Keedie ✓
- Mr Allison ✓
-
- Which of the following are true of Keedie?
- She attends university. ✓
- She is also autistic. ✓
- She was also taught by Miss Murphy. ✓
- She is an influencer.
-
- Which of the following locations is Addie most comfortable in?
- the school corridor
- the school library ✓
- her classroom
-
Worksheet
Loading worksheet ...
Presentation
Loading presentation ...
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- 'A Kind of Spark' is a novel set in Scotland and written by Elle McNicoll, who is autistic herself.
- Addie, the main protagonist, is autistic, but this does not define her exclusively.
- The book is written in the first person from Addie's perspective.
- When we read, we make inferences about characters based on evidence in the text.
- At the start of the book, Addie has a close relationship with her sister Keedie - but not with her sister Nina.
Common misconception
Pupils may think all autistic people will be similar to Addie in the book or that all autistic people will experience the world in the same way.
Explain that autistic experiences are diverse and that Addie's experiences are not universal. The book is written by an autistic writer, who drew on her own experiences when writing the book. No autistic person 'represents' all autistic people.
Keywords
First person - the point of view where the narrator of the story is the ‘I’ character, providing a personal account of events or experiences
Evidence - the information from a text that can support or justify our reasoning
Inference - a conclusion drawn from information and evidence in a text.
+